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Prediabetes tied to impaired workplace performance
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Adults with prediabetes may experience impaired workplace performance, which may be attributed to depressive symptoms, according to findings published in the Canadian Journal of Diabetes.
Roger S. McIntyre, MD, FRCPC, professor of psychiatry and pharmacology at the University of Toronto and head of the mood disorders psychopharmacology unit at the University Health Network in Toronto, and colleagues evaluated data from the Motivation Study on 205 adults (54.6% men) with prediabetes to determine the mechanistic link between diabetes and workplace productivity by evaluating the mediational effect of depressive symptoms and cognitive impairment on workplace productivity.
Participants completed the Endicott Work Productivity Scale (EWPS) to determine work function, the Patient Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) to measure depressive symptom severity and the Perceived Deficits Questionnaire (PDQ-5) to measure and detect cognitive deficits in major depressive disorder.
Overall, 84 participants were employed in a managerial or supervisory position, and the remaining were in nonmanagerial or nonsupervisory positions. Significant impairments in workplace functioning and productivity were reported by 8.8% of participants, 12.2% reported clinically significant depressive symptoms and 58.5% self-reported clinically significant cognitive dysfunction.
The association between depressive symptomatology and subjective ratings of workplace productivity was partially mediated by self-rated cognitive impairment severity (P < .0001). Effects of the PHQ-9 total scores on the EWPS total scores were mediated by the PDQ-5 total scores in participants employed in managerial or supervisory positions. The effects of the PHQ-9 total scores on EWPS total scores were statistically significant in participants who were in nonmanagerial or nonsupervisory positions (P = .0003).
“Our results underscore the importance of screening for and measuring cognitive deficits in individuals with brain-based and/or cardiometabolic disorders,” the researchers wrote. “Furthermore, our results suggest that treating disturbances in the peripheral metabolic system may improve occupational functioning. The foregoing findings suggest the importance of utilizing all available multidisciplinary treatment modalities, including education, pharmacologic and behavioral interventions, to improve physical and mental health, cognitive and functional outcomes in clinical populations.” – by Amber Cox
Disclosure: The study was funded by AstraZeneca Canada.
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